RampUp Charlotte 2018 Recap: Data Lakes, Blurred Lines, and More

We’re back from the Queen City or the Q.C.—that’s Charlotte, for those unaware of its nickname. It was our first time here and we were thrilled with our sharp, inquisitive attendees who put our speakers through their paces and garnered some great ideas to take back to their teams.

Insight 1: A data lake is like a melting piece of Lego.

There are many definitions of data lake out there, but few as poetic as the one shared by Newcombe Clark, global director of AIG’s Rapid Learning Lab.

“A data lake is like a melting piece of Lego. Legos can be built and rebuilt into many various structures. However, the builder is restricted to the block shape of Legos.

“A data lake is more fluid and can be shaped without the parameters of a rigid structure. Freeform data sources flow in and therefore data lakes represent data in its natural state. Users then have the flexibility to examine and analyze big data sets that will drive business decisions. For marketers, this means the ability to dive in and analyze competitive pricing, grow customer segments, and refine their strategy overall,” he shared.

Insight 2: The line between TV and digital is disappearing.

What was once a stark line is now blurred and soon to be nonexistent, according to Danielle Seth, director of advanced advertising sales at Comcast Spotlight. The biggest issue with TV advertising in the past was that most media buys were based on broad demographics like age or gender.

Granular datasets are now available to TV ad buyers, representing a major shift in the way advertisers approach this medium. Of course, this is how digital has been bought and sold for years, so there’s a lot the two groups can learn from each other and share to create more powerful, on-target ads.

Insight 3: Three hours and seven minutes is the average amount of time spent buying a car.

James Grace, senior director of analytics products at Cox Automotive dropped this statistic during his TED-talk-esque session titled “Input: Customer Data, Output: People-Based Marketing.” When you consider that most people visiting a dealership have already done the research and pretty much know what they want, three hours and seven minutes seems like an absurd amount of time. You could binge watch an entire Netflix series in three hours and seven minutes!

“For every minute you decrease the time from getting to the dealership to holding a new set of keys, your customer satisfaction goes up dramatically,” said Grace. He encouraged attendees to look at their own markers of customer satisfaction and what seemingly insignificant changes can make a big difference.

Bonus insight: Come hungry and thirsty.

You will not go hungry or thirsty at a RampUp event. Some events skimp on meals and food—we don’t. They are just as important as the content to the RampUp experience (our RampUp Charlotte attendees enjoyed a full bar pouring French 75s). So make time to sit down with your fellow attendees for a meal and stay for the happy hour after our last session wraps!

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